Posts Categorized: Estate Planning

The most basic facets of estate planning often include a will and a trust. Both can be helpful for different reasons, but if you’re not familiar with how a trust fits into your general estate plan, consider talking with your estate planning lawyer in Massachusetts to discuss how this might benefit you.

For the purposes of simplicity, a trust is a legal arrangement holding assets for a beneficiary. An individual or entity known as the trustee is designated to manage these assets according to the terms outlined in the trust documents.

As the creator of the trust, you – as Grantor – can determine how the trustee should manage these assets and under what terms they should be distributed. The terms of your trust are somewhat flexible and can be aligned with how you want the trustee to handle it as well as the individual needs of your beneficiaries.

There are several different parties included in a trust. These include:

•    The beneficiary or the person entitled to receive part or all of the property inside the trust.
•    The trustee- the company or the person that holds legal title to the assets inside the trust and manages them for others.
•    The grantor or the person creating the trust, who may also be referred to as the trustor or the settlor.

The two primary types of trusts are irrevocable and revocable. An irrevocable trust may be created during the grantor’s lifetime or upon his or her death. A revocable trust is created during a grantor’s lifetime and can be changed or revoked at any time. Do you think a trust belongs in your estate plan? If so, talk to an experienced Massachusetts lawyer today about next steps.

As one part of a married couple, perhaps you put off estate planning because you need your spouse in order for it to be effective. If that’s the case, a non-cooperative spouse who doesn’t want to think or talk about it can lead to gridlock. That doesn’t mean estate planning is something you should ignore entirely, though. It can place you in a difficult position to attempt to move forward with this process when your spouse simply doesn’t want to.

One of the best things things to keep in mind is the concept that continually reminding your spouse that the planning needs to be done probably won’t work. You might want to try the alternative route of showing them what can go wrong if you skip planning altogether. Unfortunately, there are plenty of stories of celebrity estate planning blunders, but you might also know family members struggling through probate after their loved one avoided planning, too. All of these can be used as a conversation opener.

If you already created documents decades or years ago and this is one of the reasons your spouse doesn’t want to get on board, use this as a chance to sit down and walk through how that estate planning scenario would work out. Under your current documents, what would happened to your minor children? Your assets? This may help trigger your spouse to reopen the conversation if it turns out that your previous plans just don’t measure up.

Finally, if you’re unable to spur action with these steps, it might be time to do as much as you can on your own. Start with an inventory of all the assets and go from there. A meeting with an estate planning lawyer in Massachusetts can help you figure out what’s necessary moving forward

Does thinking about your original estate planning documents conjure up images of meeting in someone’s office a decade ago when you first got married or when you had a child? Or was it in the more recent past, but there are numerous changes you’ve undergone in your life and family since then? If either one of these situations describes you, it may be time for an estate planning audit.

Plenty of people fall victim to the myth that estate planning is a one-and-done scenario. They schedule a meeting with a lawyer, get the basic documents in line, store them safely, and then forget about it. Those initial steps to get your will, trusts, and powers of attorney documents in line are important nonetheless, but your estate planning can only work properly for you if it’s in line with your current needs, not your past ones.

One of the biggest benefits of setting up an estate planning audit with a Massachusetts lawyer is to learn whether or not all the tools and documents you have now carry out your wishes as they should. For example, if you have gotten divorced since your last meeting with an attorney, there’s a good chance your current documents award everything or give power to make decisions on your behalf to your former spouse. These documents may remain legally valid even with a divorce decree. It is your responsibility to change them at the appropriate time.

It’s easy to write off an estate planning audit as something you intend to get around to. The truth is that most people don’t anticipate a disabling life event that triggers a power of attorney. Even more people don’t want to think about their own mortality, making it easier to push estate planning to the back burner.

Passing away with inaccurate materials, however, can be even more troubling for your loved ones in the wake of coping with their grief over your loss. You can help to avoid this situation by setting up a meeting with an experienced Massachusetts estate planning lawyer today.

As we quickly approach 2017, it is an excellent opportunity to review your existing estate planning documents and determine if  you have fallen short. Unfortunately, far too many people make simple mistakes that can end up turning into big problems down the road if they are not careful.

These simple mistakes often catch family members by surprise when a loved one unexpectedly passes away. This is because it is usually the family members dealing with the management of estate planning documents or probate in Massachusetts.

What follows are some of the most common mistakes made in the estate planning realm. These include:

•      Wrongly titled or untitled assets. If you do choose to use a trust, you should follow through by having all assets titled in the name of the trust, otherwise your assets will actually be disposed of by your will.
•      Leaving assets directly to beneficiaries. The inheritance that you intended to pass on to a beneficiary could be subject to an attack from a divorcing spouse, a creditor or other lawsuits. Make sure that you carefully consider other opportunities for shielding that asset.
•      Not keeping your end-of-life planning or medical care planning up to date. Your desires regarding your medical care should always be clearly articulated on a regular basis including your living will and your healthcare documents.  Setting up a meeting with an experienced estate planning lawyer can help you accomplish these goals.

Most people getting together with their family for the holiday this next week will enjoy sitting around the table and discussing what has happened in the previous year.

As you approach putting together your holiday newsletter as well, this is a good opportunity to reflect back and think about whether or not your current estate planning documents are in line with your individual needs.

Most families are peaceful enough and enjoy being together enough that discussing these options over Thanksgiving dinner is a great opportunity to introduce long term financial goals and plans. Plus, you can think back over any changes in the recent year that might ultimately alter your estate plans.

It is estimated that 93 million American estates will be transferred to someone else between 2007 and 2061. An approximate $59 trillion will be transferred in those estates. Without proper planning, this could create confusion or even conflicts among loved ones.

If you don’t know where your estate planning documents are kept, however, or if you haven’t updated them recently, now is a good time to set up a meeting with an experienced estate planning lawyer in Massachusetts. You can get your questions answered and get the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’ve taken a look at your plans and protected your loved ones appropriately.

Estate planning laws allow for individuals to donate part or some of an individual’s estate to charity. There are many different reasons why an individual might choose to donate to a charity upon his or her death. For example, in certain situations there may be no family members to inherit an estate’s assets, or the individual may feel a particular commitment to pass on assets to a charity. Having a plan in place can allow the charity to get the most possible benefit.

The bottom line is that this boils down to what is most important for the person engaging in the estate planning process. When thinking about passing on your assets to charity, it is important to set up a meeting with an experienced estate planning attorney.

An estate planning attorney can walk you through all of the potential options for passing on an estate to a charity as well as what makes the most sense both for you and for the charity from the perspective of taxes or maximum assets left behind.

Planning to pass things on to a charity can be simple or complex but it should always be aligned with your individual goals and done under the guidance of a knowledgeable estate planning attorney. A Massachusetts estate planning lawyer can help you figure out your next steps so that you can carry out your goals for charitable giving and do this in the most effective way.